4 CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE From the 1970s to the Present An overview Almost every contemporary architect has been influenced by the Modernist movement, but today many of them are following personal and individual mixing together details, context, site, theory, and new experiments. Since the 1970s, architectural styles have become more and – among architects who could be defined "contemporary" – there are and others too. paths fractured post-modernists, neo-modernists, deconstructivists, contextualists, expressionists , , a large spaces, both commercial and residential, and a are general features of contemporary architecture. Clean lines open floor plans loft-like arrangement 1 lack of ornament General trends The term 'Contemporary Architecture' suggests the use of new materials and technologies, forms and architectural languages that are not generally past traditions. There are six main trends that contemporary architects deal with: rooted in to make something new. Re-use of old buildings that tries to with the environment around it and sometimes incorporates plants into the structural design. Organic architecture blend in that respect the planet. Use of recyclable materials – where a structure does not release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or is designed to run on renewable energy sources. Carbon-neutral architecture , which uses to distort the form of the structure. The finished visual result looks chaotic and , but takes into consideration extra space in ways not thought of. Deconstructivism 1 non-rectilinear shapes unpredictable previously , which emerged in the 1970s and includes elements of high-tech industry and technology into building design. High Tech Stararchitects In the last decade, the word – a neologism describing the phenomenon of architects achieving a sort of celebrity status – has been applied to those architects considered icons of contemporary architecture, whose spectacular designs have brought them and glory. Among these, the most remarkable are: Star architect fame Frank Gehry Norman Foster Zaha Hadid Renzo Piano Rem Koolhaas Daniel Libeskind Richard Meier Santiago Calatrava Jean Nouvel Richard Rogers WARM UP Have you ever been to an Italian city where there are outstanding buildings which are an expression of contemporary architecture? If you haven’t, surf the net to get information. DO What exactly is a loft? Surf the net to get information. 1 MORE Frank Gehry’s house in Santa Monica was a forerunner of the Deconstructivist movement. The first recognized public Deconstructivist architectural projects came almost a decade later. 1